news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

An U.S. airline set to enter the low-cost travel market next year from a hub in Columbus, Ohio, has started looking at prospective airports. Skybus Airlines, run by a former partner in IBM Corp.’s travel consulting practice, hopes to fly to up to 25 cities in the United States starting next March.

It will model itself after European low-cost leader Ryanair, the company says. Skybus seeks to undercut discount rivals, such as Southwest Airlines, by offering “ultra-low fares,” says Chief Executive Officer Bill Diffenderffer.

A failure by the U.S. and the European Union to reach a new agreement next month on the provision of passenger data for transatlantic flights could ground up to 105,000 people each week.

The two sides need to reach a new accord by the end of September, after the European Court of Justice ruled in May that the current agreement is unacceptable. That agreement calls for airlines to provide U.S. authorities with the names, addresses, ticket payment details, and telephone numbers of passengers on U.S.-bound flights. The EU’s highest court ruled that there was no “appropriate legal basis” for the deal, and said it would cease to be valid from October.

source: PCworld

Airlines are allowing ticketed passengers affected by Hurricane John to change and rebook their tickets, and in some cases, obtain refunds.Alaska Airlines will waive change fees and other charges for those scheduled to travel through Friday to or from Puerto Vallarta or Los Cabos if travel is rescheduled for on or before Sept. 21. The airline is offering full refunds for those who don’t want to travel or don’t have new dates.
Other airlines were following similar policies.

More info at Seattle Times